{"id":4995,"date":"2019-02-11T05:00:31","date_gmt":"2019-02-11T05:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gtechbooster.com\/?p=4995"},"modified":"2023-06-21T11:44:03","modified_gmt":"2023-06-21T11:44:03","slug":"could-facebooks-unified-services-spell-dark-days-for-whatsapp-users","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gtechbooster.com\/could-facebooks-unified-services-spell-dark-days-for-whatsapp-users\/","title":{"rendered":"Could Facebooks unified services spell dark days for WhatsApp users?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg recently announced plans to merge\nhis three dominant messaging services: Instagram, Facebook Messenger,\nand WhatsApp. The goal, according to Facebook, is to create a more\nunified service across all three platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"gtech-migrated-from-ad-inserter-placement-2\" style=\"text-align: center;\" id=\"gtech-2089810829\"><div style=\"margin-right: auto;margin-left: auto;text-align: center;\" id=\"gtech-2844898311\"><a data-bid=\"1\" data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/gtechbooster.com\/linkout\/17207\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"notrack\" aria-label=\"26001\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/gtechbooster.com\/media\/2023\/01\/26001.jpeg\" alt=\"\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/gtechbooster.com\/media\/2023\/01\/26001.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/gtechbooster.com\/media\/2023\/01\/26001-768x960.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" width=\"500\" height=\"625\"  style=\"display: inline-block;\" \/><\/a><\/div><\/div><p>\u201cWe want to build the best messaging experiences we can; and people want messaging to be fast, simple, reliable and private,\u201d a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wired.com\/story\/facebook-messenger-whatsapp-instagram-chat-combined-encryption-identity\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Facebook spokesperson said<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With these services integrated, users will be able to easily message\none another from different apps. But while the merger may make these\nservices more convenient, it doesn\u2019t necessarily mean they\u2019ll be more\nsecure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Encryption as an afterthought<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The decision to merge these services has both lawmakers and privacy\nadvocates scratching their heads. Zuckerberg has already stated plans to\n make each of the three messaging apps encrypted, but the real question\nis how.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>WhatsApp was one of the first messaging services to offer end-to-end\nencryption, while Messenger offers customizable encryption features that\n need to be turned on manually. Instagram, however, offers no such\nprotections (or options).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Will Instagram and Messenger be retooled to offer the same privacy\nsettings as WhatsApp? Or will WhatsApp be downgraded with weaker\nsecurity software to help it function like the other apps? <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These are just a sample of the dozens of questions security experts are asking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-twitter aligncenter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The second problem is that the increased access to metadata. As the article points out, WA users register with a telephone and FB users don\u2019t. I suspect FB has already done a lot to link these identifiers together, but cross-app comms will be even more effective. 7\/<\/p>&mdash; Matthew Green (@matthew_d_green) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/matthew_d_green\/status\/1088811888689987584?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 25, 2019<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><figcaption><strong> dozens of questions security experts are asking <\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>What\u2019s more, how will the login details work? WhatsApp users\ncurrently need to only enter a valid phone number to use the app, but\nMessenger uses the information populated from Facebook\u2014including your\nfull name and email address.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Any move that attaches more personal information to individual\naccounts could make WhatsApp less secure, which for most of its 1.5\nbillion users could make a significant impact on how (or if) they decide\n to still use it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A matter of convenience\u2026 or control?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Zuckerberg has already stated that the goal is to improve\nfunctionality across all three platforms, but that seems like a\ndifficult task given that each service serves a different purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But here\u2019s the thing: WhatsApp is still the <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.inc.com\/larry-kim\/the-top-7-messenger-apps-in-world.html\" target=\"_blank\">world\u2019s most popular messaging platform<\/a>,  with a heavy following in South America, Africa and other  swaths of the world. It\u2019s often touted as one of the most secure  messaging apps around. By streamlining these services so people can  cross-communicate within their respective apps, it means that all three  apps will need to become more homogenous\u2014whether with their encryption  protocols, login credentials, or any other way is still unknown.<\/p><div class=\"gtech-mid-cont\" style=\"text-align: center;\" id=\"gtech-3349318177\"><div style=\"margin-right: auto;margin-left: auto;text-align: center;\" id=\"gtech-1701208913\"><a data-bid=\"1\" data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/gtechbooster.com\/linkout\/17207\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"notrack\" aria-label=\"26001\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/gtechbooster.com\/media\/2023\/01\/26001.jpeg\" alt=\"\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/gtechbooster.com\/media\/2023\/01\/26001.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/gtechbooster.com\/media\/2023\/01\/26001-768x960.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" width=\"500\" height=\"625\"  style=\"display: inline-block;\" \/><\/a><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>On the flip side, if Facebook were to dial back the amount of data collection\n and up the encryption settings on its other apps, this could end up\nbeing a great step toward a more secure and private internet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Still, considering <a href=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2018\/09\/24\/instagram-founders-leave\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">the founders of both WhatsApp and Instagram<\/a>\n left after Facebook acquired each company is a little telling and could\n be a sign that there\u2019s more happening behind the scenes than industry\nexecs are letting on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Could plummeting stocks be pushing this change?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>There\u2019s no question Facebook\u2019s facing more government scrutiny than\never before, and experts are already speculating that this merger is\nbeing done pre-emptively before the U.S. is able to enforce new laws\nthat could effectively punish Facebook for buying up all the\ncompetition. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Already, the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) has publicly demanded that Facebook <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theregister.co.uk\/2019\/01\/29\/irish_dpc_summons_facebook_merger\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">reveal more information<\/a> regarding the merger, and leaders in Washington are also voicing concern.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cFacebook and Google\u2019s dominance over data has already harmed\nconsumers and the economy. The FTC and the Department of Justice must\ntake Big Tech\u2019s invasive, anticompetitive practices seriously and begin\nto vigorously enforce our laws,\u201d Senator Richard Blumenthal recently <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2019\/1\/28\/18200658\/facebook-messenger-instagram-whatsapp-google-congress-markey-blumenthal-schatz-william-barr-doj-ftc\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">told The Verge<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With so many different social media sites floating around these days,\n it\u2019s sometimes easy to forget that most are controlled by only a\nhandful of companies. Much like how cable companies and internet service\n providers (ISPs) in the U.S. are controlled by two or three flagship\nbusinesses, many social services are simply offshoots of a bigger brand.\n <a href=\"https:\/\/www.investopedia.com\/articles\/insights\/082216\/top-8-companies-owned-twitter-twtr.asp\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Twitter owns Periscope<\/a>, Gnip, and obviously TweetDeck, while Facebook also owns <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/facebook-own-instagram-does-companies-apps-data-860732\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Oculus and Masquerade<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Integrating Facebook\u2019s multiple messaging services could potentially\ngive the company more sway among fledgling users, but it could also help\n the social media giant secure its stranglehold on the marketplace,\nwhich has been slipping in recent months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">You may want to consider using a different messaging service<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>With more than 2 billion active users, Facebook is still the undisputed king of social media. However, recent privacy scandals and shady business tricks have left many users feeling less than optimistic about the company\u2019s future. In fact, stocks dropped <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/search?q=facebook+stock+dropped+roughly+25%25+since+2018&amp;rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS709US715&amp;oq=facebook+stock+dropped+roughly+25%25+since+2018&amp;aqs=chrome..69i57j69i64.6495j1j9&amp;sourceid=chrome&amp;ie=UTF-8\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">roughly 20% in 2018<\/a>, though analysts are predicting a strong uptick in 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While the merger isn\u2019t set to take effect until 2020, WhatsApp users  may want to start looking for an alternative messaging service. We\u2019ve covered a handful  over the years (spoiler: Signal\u2019s one our favorites), and while these  services may not offer the same cross-functionality as Facebook-owned  messengers, each is arguably more private.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Credit: <strong>Express VPN<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"gtech-end-cont\" id=\"gtech-3941535451\"><div style=\"margin-right: auto;margin-left: auto;text-align: center;\" id=\"gtech-1959027327\"><a data-bid=\"1\" data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/gtechbooster.com\/linkout\/17207\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"notrack\" aria-label=\"26001\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/gtechbooster.com\/media\/2023\/01\/26001.jpeg\" alt=\"\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/gtechbooster.com\/media\/2023\/01\/26001.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/gtechbooster.com\/media\/2023\/01\/26001-768x960.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" width=\"500\" height=\"625\"  style=\"display: inline-block;\" \/><\/a><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg recently announced plans to merge his three dominant messaging services: Instagram, Facebook Messenger, and WhatsApp. The goal, according to Facebook, is to create a more unified service across all three platforms. \u201cWe want to build the best messaging experiences we can; and people want messaging to be fast, simple, reliable and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":5009,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1915],"tags":[304,305,453,6,880],"class_list":["post-4995","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ndocs","tag-facebook","tag-facebook-messenger","tag-instagram","tag-programming","tag-whatsapp-messenger"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":6}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gtechbooster.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4995","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gtechbooster.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gtechbooster.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gtechbooster.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gtechbooster.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4995"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gtechbooster.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4995\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gtechbooster.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5009"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gtechbooster.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4995"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gtechbooster.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4995"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gtechbooster.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4995"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}